First Impression

John: My favorite part of ‘Back to the Future: Part II’ is near the beginning of the movie when Marty McFly goes into the 1950’s diner. He orders a milk, plays a few video games and then gets beat up by Biff. Where am I going with this? The Counter is the double Oh’s (2000’s if you will) answer to the 1950’s diner. As soon as I sat down, I saw three things on the menu that made me wish it was 1952: a malted milkshake, a hamburger and root beer. I wasn’t even alive in 1952, heck, my parents weren’t even alive in 1952, but at that instant, I wanted it to be 1952 because I wanted to have restaurants like the Counter on every corner. As soon as you sit down, you’re handed a clipboard. On the clipboard is a sheet with about 100 ingredients on it. These are all ingredients that you can put on your hamburger. Unless you like your burger plain, it will take you 20 minutes to decide what you want on it. Here’s some simple advice: before you go to the Counter, go to their website, look at their menu, choose your toppings, write them down legibly on a piece of paper and hand that piece of paper to your server when you get to the Counter. This will save you an unbelievable amount of time and frustration, choosing toppings at the Counter is like choosing between children, only all of your kids are attractive and successful.

Copsey: My first thought wasn’t that the Counter looked vaguely like a 1950’s diner. Instead it was that this place does not look at all like a bank on the inside. Let me explain: at least twice a week I pass this place and each time I do, it think “was that building a bank in a past life?” Thankfully it is not any longer (if it ever was). The Counter has a sort of “Californian” theme going, which makes sense since the chain apparently started in the Golden state.  This made our visit all the more surreal since we went on a grey and rainy day.

John: B+
Copsey: B

Appetizers

John: The appetizer list isn’t exactly extensive, but when you find out how big and perfect the burgers are, you’ll probably agree they don’t need a lot of appetizers. Copsey and I ordered a platter that combined sweet potato fries and onion straws. I hope the person that decided to turn sweet potatoes into fries is resting comfortably in heaven, because my taste buds were there after eating these orange tasty treats. The onion straws are like onion rings on a diet. So if you like onion rings then I’m pretty sure you’ll like onion straws. However, if you don’t like onion rings, I still think you’ll like onion straws, so try them anyway.

Copsey: I’m not normally a fan of onion rings. This isn’t because of a distaste of onions, ring-shaped or otherwise. It’s because when I eat them, they tend to fall apart. Maybe it’s just me? Whatever. The counter has solved this by keeping the rings to an extremely thin cut making them easily edible in one bite and full of that tasty onion ring flavor. 

John: A
Copsey: A-

Entrée

John: As I said in the intro, it’s going to take you 20 minutes to decide the toppings on your burger. You might love jalapenos and you might love cranberries, but trust me, you should never love those two things at the same time. So when ordering your burger, you have to prioritize with your taste buds. Oh, and keep in mind that you’re not limited to burgers; you can do chicken, turkey or vegetarian. Anyway, back to my burger behemoth. Here’s what I went with for my toppings: jalapenos, hardboiled egg, tomatoes, scallions, bacon, guacamole and sweet BBQ sauce. Did the cook think someone was pulling a fast one on him with this crazy array of toppings? Probably. But that’s what I ordered and I loved it. To me burgers are like art; anyone can create something, but only the most talented can produce something great. The cook at the Counter is Michelangelo and he served me a Sistine Chapel of a burger. So many things to look at, to taste and the one-third pound patty was cooked to perfection. If you’re one of those people with a healthy heart and you laugh at one-third pound burgers, you can order a one-pound burger. We also tried a veggie burger. It was nothing special to me, but Melissa, our female dining companion, said it was the best one she’s ever had. She should know - she once went two weeks only eating veggie burgers.

Copsey: We had one beef burger and one chicken burger. By themselves, the patties are nothing incredibly different than those at any other restaurant (the beef was a little tastier than most, I think). The real hook at this place is in the toppings, which, as John pointed out, are extensive. I had provolone cheese, grilled onions, roasted red peppers, tomatoes and a roasted garlic aioli with my chicken. That sounds like a safe combination, doesn’t it? Turns out, it was. But I had underestimated just how much these topping stack; like John, I had a hard time squishing it all down so it could be eaten (I ended up using a knife and fork). The veggie burger was more condensable. There is also something called a “burger of the month,” that we had which was a kung pow shrimp concoction served with a cucumber sauce. It was surprisingly delicious, almost like eating a light salad but in burger form.

John: A-
Copsey: A-

Dessert

John: I like chocolate, I like brownies and I like coffee, but never in my life did I ever think to combine the three into a malted milkshake. The Counter thought of this. The dessert they served to us was one of the best malted milkshakes I have ever had. When I order a milkshake, I want it thick enough that I can eat it with a spoon, but not so thick that I can’t use a straw. Bingo. On the opposite end of the dessert spectrum was the apple crumb a la mode. The dish was tasty, but we all thought it was too syrupy. Only French toast tastes good syrupy. So the apple crumb was good, not great, but it didn’t matter because of the amazing malted milkshake.

Copsey: I put the soupiness down to the ice cream we had on top. It melted faster than we could devour this dish. I liked it (which is great considering I picked it) and it was cooked fresh to order, which is always a big plus. And yes, the milkshake was a big winner. We started a competition for who could dig up the biggest chunk of brownie from those malted depths. Guess who won?

John: B+
Copsey: A-

Final Impression

John: The burgers are big, juicy and made from the best meat and that’s not cheap. Unless you eat your burger plain ($8.50 for one-third pound, $13.75 for a pound) your tab for one patty is probably going to run a minimum of $10.00. If you’re a family of four, you’re going to spend a minimum of $50. Now this is good and this is bad. The Counter isn’t McDonalds, it’s not some fast food restaurant that you’re going to eat at five times a week. It’s an actual sit-down restaurant that has servers, hostesses and alcohol (Yes, they have beer, wine and liquor). While we were there, Copsey discovered something called $2.50 pints. Copsey is the Vasco De Gama of discovering good alcohol deals and he loved this deal. The $2.50 pints include Newcastle, Blue Moon and Sweetwater. For the best weekend of your life, rent ‘Back to the Future: Part II’ and head to The Counter afterward.

Copsey: When I first heard we’d be eating at a burger place I was a little disappointed considering where we’ve eaten lately. As I left the Counter, I’m pretty sure I had a smile on my face that lasted all evening. That smile was definitely wider thanks to the ridiculously priced draught beer (but it’s only a monthly special – hurry up and go there!). 

John: A-
Copsey: A